Welcome to the Public Law Today/Local Government Lawyer Marketplace Portal.

Here you can find the full range of services that public law departments and lawyers need. For departments, this page provides a directory of specialist legal advisers - including local authority legal departments that provide external services - expert witnesses, consultants, training courses, technology providers and much else besides.

MARKET NEWS Oct 18, 2021 University and DHSC legal teams ‘highly commended’ in Law Society Awards 2021 Sep 07, 2021 District councils pursue s.113 agreement to continue sharing legal services and other officers following end of wider partnership Sep 06, 2021 LGSS Law becomes Pathfinder Legal Services with target of being “a national leader for local government law” Aug 20, 2021 DAC Beachcroft announces record £17m profit growth in last year Aug 17, 2021 Increased instructions from shareholders and external clients during pandemic lead to surge in profits at council-owned LGSS Law Aug 06, 2021 Local authorities make shortlist for In-House Team of the Year in Law Society Awards 2021	TENDERS AND INSTRUCTIONS Oct 18, 2021 Major social landlord names five firms to £10m legal services framework Oct 18, 2021 Law firm advises city council on decarbonisation heat network project Oct 14, 2021 Twelve law firms named on £2m Scottish legal services framework Oct 05, 2021 Law firm advises borough on deal to build largest film and tv production centre in London Oct 05, 2021 Bevan Brittan advises borough council on £7m purchase of town centre site Sep 21, 2021 Major NW social landlord names 10 firms to £5m legal services framework
PEOPLE Oct 18, 2021 LLG extends tenure of current president for further six months Oct 14, 2021 Planning and public law specialist Olley joins FTB Oct 06, 2021 Leading child protection QC joins 1 Crown Office Row Oct 05, 2021 Browne Jacobson appoints Antoniou as new London Head of Education Oct 04, 2021 Anthony Collins Solicitors hires Wright Hassall head of housing as partner Oct 04, 2021 Liverpool names Fenwick as City Solicitor and Monitoring Officer	TECHNOLOGY Oct 20, 2021 London borough to procure case management system for Legal & Democratic Services through £355k contract Sep 21, 2021 County council gears up to procure £600k replacement legal case management system Apr 13, 2021 University legal team considers artificial technology to assist workflow Mar 08, 2021 Sharpe Pritchard launches innovative online local government law platform Feb 10, 2021 Midlands set moves to completely paperless working Jan 06, 2021 Borough council to adopt Lexis Visualfiles case management system
COMMENT AND ANALYSIS Delivering 21st-century customer experience in the public sector Rachel Buchanan examines how legal teams should support their authorities in delivering tailored services at a time of restrained resources. Virtual Training – why didn’t we think of it earlier!? Member development trainer Bethan Evans relives her experiences of switching from face-to-face to online training during lockdown and looks at how they may affect the physical/virtual divide post-pandemic. Striking out in a new direction: Setting up an ABS What does it take to set up a legal services alternative business structure? Hilary Irving of North Yorkshire County Council outlines the risks and rewards. The road from here A commitment to public service and a willingness to move for the right opportunity have seen Suki Binjal, President of LLG, work for public bodies across England. Philip Hoult finds out what she considers to be the key challenges for local government lawyers. Running out of time? Austerity has left authorities with a severe shortage of senior lawyers while a dearth of trainees and NQs is failing to swell the junior ranks. Neasa MacErlean assesses what can be done to close the gap. Legal apprenticeships: getting started One of the great privileges of working with local authorities to deliver apprenticeships is observing the different approaches legal departments take to deploying and developing apprentice staff, writes Noel Inge. The Company Sec in local government As commercialisation grows, Azhar Ghose outlines the increasing importance of the Company Secretary role within local authorities and offers some tips on how it can be performed. The best of both worlds Tiffany Cloynes and Gillian Duckworth outline the benefits of the partnership between Sheffield City Council and law firm Geldards for the public and private sector alike. One size does not fit all Offering a one-size-fits-all approach will inevitably undermine the relationships we have with our clients, writes Geoff Wild. Personal philosophies Chris Guy, a former local authority head of legal, sets out how he tried to overcome his weaknesses. Aiming for the top How should you go about securing the position of head of legal at a local authority? Chris Guy shares some thoughts. Taxing times Changes to the tax regime for locum lawyers threaten to disrupt the supply of a vital source of staff for local authority legal departments, writes Neasa McErlean. Hundreds of locum lawyers are facing the prospect of 30% falls in their take-home pay as many… Striking a Balance In the face of relentless pressure on local authority budgets, heads of legal services are required to contribute savings to balance the budget, whilst at the same time being expected to provide advice on increasingly complex and often unfamiliar legal… Brave New World Derek Bedlow speaks to Invicta Law’s chief executive Geoff Wild to hear his plans for the local authority-owned ABS launched in June by Kent County Council Invicta Law – the Alternative Business Structure (ABS) spun off from Kent County Council’s legal… Understanding the objectives of clients What will make your clients relish the opportunity to work with you again: content or delivery? Geoff Wild considers the issues. Professionalism or mucking in? “Perception is reality, but it’s the clients' perceptions that we have to address, not our own” - Read Geoff Wild's latest blog. Ever decreasing circles Gwendoline Davies, Andrew Northage and Robert Starr analyse the latest case to further limit legal professional privilege. Service standards or service excellence? Service standards could have the effect of lowering expectations of excellence when we should be raising them instead, writes Geoff Wild. Brand values or independent thought? Does having a proper regard for ensuring the right degree of independence make you appear aloof, arrogant and uncaring? Geoff Wild reports. Challenge your perspectives … In the first in a series of articles, Geoff Wild considers how clients assess their lawyers. Better than ever Jayne Francis-Ward, head of EMLawShare, sets out the highlights from the legal services consortium's fifth conference.